Uncovered
by alemigui
Summary: Takes place a few moths after the coronation. Life is good for the 4 villain kids in Auradon. Ben and Mal are happily in love, but when an online gossip blog posts some private photos their relationship is put to the test. Will their love be strong enough or will they crumble and fall? Ben/Mal Disclaimer: I wish I owned Descendants, but sadly I don't.
1. The First Post

**_MAL_**

Things have changed for good after Ben's coronation. For the first time in my life I feel alive. Back on the island I always thought that being evil and mean and ruthless and cruel was the only way to have a good time. After being in Auradon for quite some time now, I realize how what I thought felt like home was actually an empty hole in the pit of my stomach. Now the hole has been filled, and nothing feels more like home than right here in Ben's arms.

Ben. I am currently lying facedown on his bare perfectly toned chest with my hair tossed in all different directions. He's awake. I know he's staring at me while I sleep, but he doesn't know I am also awake. I think about moving or talking, but I restrain myself for a few more minutes of this. I love these small moments. I love Ben. I love. Never thought I would say that or even admit it to myself, but I do.

"Mal?" I hear Ben whisper. I ignore him and continue pretending to be asleep. His strokes my hair softly and I can't help but smile. "Mal" he says a little louder and I decide to finally "wake up". I push myself up and find Ben's green eyes, tousled brown hair and perfect smile as my good morning. Wouldn't have it any other way. (Except maybe with the curtains shut)

"Hey" I say, my voice raspy from sleep. He leans in for a kiss and I follow along without hesitating. He tries to pull away but there's no way in hell that I'm letting that happen. My hand move instantly to the back of his head, my fingers interlacing with his hair as I pull him forcing our lips to meet once again. He doesn't complain, but he isn't as eager as before. It's my job to change that. I straddle him in one swift move and move my lips from his lips to his neck. His hands are now on my lower back gently pulling me closer. I suck and nibble the tender skin on his neck most likely leaving a few marks along the way. I stop for a moment and just stare at him. How did Mal, the child of the worst villain of them all, end up here?

I go in for his lips again, but he just gives me a quick peck before getting up from the bed. He walks to the closet and pulls out a hanger with a complete outfit already planned out for him. I move so I'm kneeling at the edge of his bed. When he turns back towards me I give him the most irresistible pouty face.

"Oh no you don't" he objects, "I have breakfast with my father and you need to get back to you room before we get caught". I keep looking up at him with puppy eyes waiting for him to give in, but when he doesn't I have to turn to plan B.

"Please!" I beg as he puts on his button up shirt. He looks at me and laughs before grabbing my lower back and pulling me up to a tall kneeling position. "We barely see each other anymore"

"Come on" he laughs, "How much time have you spent in your room the past couple of weeks?" He sasses as I finish buttoning his shirt. He seems amused until he sees the sad expression on my face. "I promise I'll make it up to you Mal, but right now you need to get going before people see you" he hands me my clothes and gives me one last kiss.

"Fine" I give in, "but I want that thing about making it up to me on writing". I finish getting dressed and head for the window. "I love you" Ben chimes from the other side of the room. "I love you too" I smile before making my way down the stone wall.

It's about 6:15ish in the morning and there is nobody awake yet. I wouldn't usually wake up until 7, but if I want to stay at Ben's it's the price I have to pay. The campus is empty at this hour so no one sees me leaving Ben's in yesterday's clothes. It takes me about 5 minutes to walk all the way to the girl's dorms. Once I get there the only light on at this godforsaken hour is obviously the one with the girl who has a 2 hour morning beauty ritual. I climb up to our window and thankfully Evie left it open. I could just walk into the building but I know someone might see me on their way to the bathroom or something.

"I can't believe you spent the night again" Evie says flatly as I climb through the window. "If you two get caught you are both screwed, and if anyone saw you walking around campus at this hour with your hair looking like that I think your little secret wouldn't be such a secret anymore ". She sits at the vanity applying her making with precision like she does every single morning. I am so glad to have Evie in my life, but when she gives me the same "Be careful or you'll get caught" speech almost every morning I feel like she's my mother. (Well, not my actual mother).

"Don't be so dramatic" I state my case,"I've only stayed over twice this week". I can feel her roll her eyes as I walk to the bathroom.

"Yes Mal, and it's only Tuesday" I hate it when she's right.

I choose to ignore her and quickly jump into the shower. When I get out it's almost 6:45 and Evie is almost done with her beauty ritual. Her last step is picking the perfect outfit. Once she is done she usually has little spare time to go online and check the latest gossip and fashion trends. I dry my hair not really caring how it turns out and throw on the first thing I find, which turn out to be plain black pants and a black and purple jacket.

"Hey Mal!" Evie calls from the computer with a hint of worry in her voice. "You should see this!"

"You know I'm not really into gossip, E" I bawl from my bed as I put on my boots.

"Oh, I think your going to find this particular piece pretty interesting" I roll my eyes and unwillingly go see what is it she finds so interesting.

"What is it this time?" I ask and my jaw drops once I read the headline.

THE (not so) ROYAL WALK OF SHAME

Evie scrolls down and I see the various photos of me climbing down Ben's window, my messy hair and even a couple of photos of us kissing half naked taken through the window. For a few moments I'm speechless.

"Pits not like anyone reads this stupid gossip blog anyways, right?" I ask trying to hide the fear in my voice, but when she doesn't respond I snap. "Right!?" I half yell at Evie even though it isn't her fault.

"It's on Auradon Uncovered" she gulps not wanting to continue. "Everyone reads Auradon Uncovered"

"Crap!" I hiss covering my face with my hands.

Evie grabs her backpack and walks to the door. "Are you coming to breakfast?" She asks before opening the door. I shake my head and sit down on the computer to read the article, which I would probably regret later. "I'll see you in history then" she walks out of the room leaving me and the computer alone.

We are definitely screwed.


	2. The Impulse

_Thank you you so so much to everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed or read my story. I have some really great ideas for this story and it feels good to know that people are enjoying it as well as I am. Please keep reviewing. I love hearing suggestions and ideas any of you may have._

* * *

 _ **MAL**_

The bell rings just as I finally close the stupid laptop computer. I would have thrown it across the room, but instead I look at the clock on the Wall and realize that I have missed the first three periods. I have been locked in my room searching for more posts about Ben and I. I walk out of the room, slamming the door on my way out. I can't believe some creep was taking pictures of us this morning, and the morning before that, and Friday night, and I could keep going. I've texted Ben a couple times saying that we need to talk, but he hasn't even seen the messages.

I hold my chin up as I enter the school. Everyone stares at me, but I just ignore them. I open my locker and practically stick my head inside to avoid the deathly stares. Do they really think I don't know they are staring at me? Whatever. I grab my history book and close my locker as if nothing was bothering me. I continue to make my way down the hall. History Class is on the other end of the wing where my locker is. Maybe if I just act like nothing is going on they'll stop looking at me. I keep telling myself that, but when I am walk down the hall, people move to the sides as soon as they see me. For the first time in my life I feel like my mother. Of course they aren't moving out of the way because of fear like they did for my mother.

I can also hear them whispering. It's the same little comments and speculations they had posted on the stupid site.

"Such a whore" I hear one girl say.

"That's probably what they were taught on the isle" someone else comments.

"I bet she's pregnant" I hear from behind me.

"Gold digger" some boy says.

The history class is a couple of steps away, but when the bell rings I decide to go look for Ben. I turn around; however, before I even take a step I hear Mr. Dahl, my history teacher, behind me.

"And where exactly do you think you're going?" He asks. For a second I hope he isn't talking to me, but since I am now the only person standing in the hall there's really no pretending. I turn back around rolling my eyes and give him a fake smile.

"I have to go to the bathroom" I lie. Really Mal? Couldn't you thought of a better excuse. " I'll be back before you know it".

"Nice try" he opens the door for me, "come on before I have to give you a tardy in my class".

I walk into class reluctantly and sit down next to Evie. I usually enjoy history. It's one of the only classes I have with Evie, but right now I really don't feel like being anywhere with people. I open my notebook and begin doodling on the back page. Mr. Dahl goes on and on about some war that happened hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago involving ogres and trolls, but all I can think about is getting out of here and finding Ben.

"Mal?" I hear Evie ask quietly.

"Yes, Evie?" I respond hoping she doesn't ask if I'm okay.

"Are you okay?" And there it is.

"Yes Evie why wouldn't I be" I say through my gritted teeth and continue drawing without looking up.

"Carlos asked why you weren't in Science class" she explains, "and then Lonnie said you weren't in Art".

"I kind of stayed on the computer looking at all the gossip" I sigh putting my pencil down. "I know I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't resist. And then I couldn't stop"

"Have you talked to Ben?" She whispers so no one hears us.

"No" replied with a crack in my voice. "I left a couple of messages but he had a-"

"Mal and Evie" Mr. Dahl interrupts, "if your conversation is so much more interesting than my class then maybe we should all hear what it is you are talking about". He smirks. Everyone is staring again. They all know what we were talking about. It's what everyone is talking about. I open my mouth to say something, but Evie speaks first.

"It's my fault Mr. Dahl" she half lies. "I asked Mal if she had the guidelines for a Geography project"

Everyone, including Mr. Dahl looks at us in disbelief, but he plays along. "Very well" he says, "please pay attention. The Ogre Wars are a particularly difficult part of history." He continues talking and I just pretend I'm paying attention until the bell rings and I bolt out of the room.

After fourth period comes lunch. I'm really hungry since I skipped breakfast, but it's easy to ignore because it nothing compare to how hungry we were on the island some days. Evie and I meet up with Jay and Carlos every day before lunch. They are standing by the cafeteria door as usual, but their faces are not the same. They're concerned about me which makes me really annoyed.

"Guys I'm fine" I bark at them and the concern washes away from their faces instantly, "Really, there's no need to worry". I go into the cafeteria first. Once again everyone stares and whispers. I'm not going to lie, it getting really annoying. Soon enough Evie, Jay and Carlos are by my side. They're silent for a couple of seconds.

"Let's go get some lunch" Jay says and the all begin walking to the lunch line, except me. It's like I can't take a step forwards, so instead I just take a step back.

"I'm not really that hungry guys" I lie, "I'll you you later". I turn around and walk out of the cafeteria but Carlos reaches for my shoulder. "Mal" he says softly, "it's okay to not be okay". Tears begin to fill my eyes and I just walk away from him.

I walk without a destination and somehow end up at the enchanted lake where we had our first date. It feels nice to be alone. Ben finally answered my texts. He said sorry for not answering, he had been in meeting all morning and was just getting to class. He was probably going to freak once he realized I wasn't at school.

I am sitting in the old ruins with a sketch pad and a pencil. I'm attempting to draw the lake, but not really liking how it is turning out. Right now I'm focusing on the water and nothing else. Just me and the crystal clear water. The water looks so good right now.

I get up and walk to the edge of the ruin. I look at the waterfall and remember how Ben jumped into the water on our first date. Without thinking I start to make my way to the top of the water fall. I never realized the view from the top. You could see acres of untouched forest and the suddenly Beast and Belle's appeared in the distance.

A further away you could still see the isle. It was small spec of darkness in the beautiful view, but no matter how small it seemed it was still there disrupting the beauty. It was amazing how insignificant the Isle looked from here. Someone who hasn't seen the isle up close could never imagine the awful things that go on there. But for me, for Carlos, for Evie, and for Jay, the memories will always be there.

I take one last glance at the isle before taking a step and plummeting into the water without thinking about what I was doing. I enjoy the cool feeling as I enter the water, but i quickly snap back into reality and panic once I remember. I can't swim.


	3. The Breath

_Thank you guys so so so much for all the reviews and follows and favorites. If you have any ideas or suggestions feel free to leave a review and don't be scared to press the follow and favorite button. ❤️_

* * *

 _ **MAL**_

What have I done? What. Have. I. Done? If I had been thinking straight, or thinking at all, I would have never jumped. I hate water. Ben attempted to teach me how to swim once, but it didn't really work out. Now I kind of wish I hadn't given up on swimming, or I wouldn't be fighting for my life right now.

I kick and struggle hoping to surface and get some air, but the water is like an unbearable weight pushing me deeper and deeper into the lake. I feel my lung squeeze from the pressure. My throat burns from the trapped air and my ears are pounding. I continue struggling for a few seconds before I begin to feel weak. I try kick again but my legs don't move.

My entire body relaxes. A cold rush of water calms the burning in my throat and nose. My eyes begin to close, life dimming around me. I love you Ben. My body feels cold and numb as I sink into dark unconsciousness.

 _ **BEN**_

After a morning full of meeting and royal duties, I finally make it to school just as lunch ends. Mal texted me a couple of times saying we needed to talk, so I try to find her before the bell rings. I go to her locker, the art studio, and her room but to my disappointment she is nowhere to be found. I go back to the school, and find Evie talking to Doug by the picnic tables. I hesitate before interrupting, but I have to find Mal.

"Hey Evie" I walk towards them, "sorry to interrupt, but have you seen Mal? She said we need to talk, and I'm worried. I looked everywhere in campus and she isn't here"

Evie gives Doug a soft look and he walks steps away leaving us by ourselves. "Have you been online today?" She asks.

"No" I shake my head, "my parents taught me not to look at gossip sites when I was like 8 years old"

She reaches into her bag and pulls out her phone. "I think you might want to see this", she holds up her phone to my face with a picture of Mal and I kissing on my bed. Her legs tangled in the white sheets and her perfect upper body would be completely uncovered if it weren't for her lilac bra. My hands are on the crease of her lower back, and all that separate me from nudity are my boxers. The picture was taken from outside my window, probably with a long lens. I might not look at gossip sites, but I'm smart enough to know that Auradon Uncovered is what everyone reads. Mal must have seen this. "It's all anyone can talk about" Evie informs me.

"When was the last time you saw Mal?" I ask frantically

"Lunch" she puts her phone away, "We were going to eat together, but she said she wasn't hungry and left. Haven't seen her since. She would never admit it, but she was pretty upset".

Mal was upset? Mal was upset! That's it. "I know where she is".

I hop on my bike and make my way to the Enchanted Lake. Mal always goes to the lake when something is bothering her. I run through the bridge and stop at the end. I can see the waterfall from here, and at the very top I can see Mal staring out into the horizon. A smile forms on my face. I finally found her. She drops her head and takes a step forwards to the edge of the waterfall. The smile fades from my face. Before I can do anything, Mal jumps and my heart drops to my stomach.

I run at full speed towards the lake. Mal can't swim. I tried to teach her once and it didn't turn out well. Why would she do that? I feel a branch scrape my right cheek, but I don't stop running through the trees until I reach the ruins. I stop for a second staring at the clear water where Mal is struggling for air. She flails her arms and kicks her legs, but then her body goes still. Her purple hair is perfectly visible through the clear water as she begins to sink.

Without even thinking twice about it, I dive into the lake fully clothed. I grab an unconscious Mal bridal style and carry her to the ruins. I place her on the floor and check to see if she's breathing. She's not breathing. I begin to do chest compressions. 1... 2... 3... All the way up to 30. I check to see if she's breathing again, but there's still nothing. I take a deep breath and start the chest compressions again.

"Come on Mal" I plead, "Please wake up"

 _ **MAL**_

I'm no longer underwater. The pressure on my chest has disappeared and my ears are no longer pounding. My eyes fly open and my body spasms while I cough and gasp for air. The blue sky is all I can see for a few seconds as my body expels all the water I had in me. I can feel water coming out of my nose and mouth with every cough. When the coughing fit is over I take in a deep breath and finally look at my surroundings.

Ben. He's the fist thing I see and I don't need to look at anything else. I sigh and wrap my arms around his neck. My breaths are quick but all that matters is that I'm breathing. When she separate from our embrace, I notice the large wound on his cheek and his red eyes. He's been crying.

"Oh Mal" he cries, "you weren't breathing. I thought I'd found you and lost you in the same moment"

"Hey" I grab his face with both hands, "I'm here"

"Why would you do that Mal?" He questions, "why would you try to kill yourself?"

"What happened?" I ask genuinely confused.

He looks at me with the same confused look I have. How did I end up in the water?

"You don't remember?" I shake my head, "Mal you jumped from the top of the waterfall"

"I remember being at the top" I recall, "I was looking at the views and then I saw the Isle. The next thing I knew I was underwater and I couldn't breath".

"You really don't remember jumping?" He asks again and I just look down.

"No" I really can't remember jumping off the waterfall.

Ben stand up and then helps me do the same. He doesn't let go of me for a second. He has a hand on either side of my body. His soaking wet hair drips on his forehead and his green eyes glimmer in the sunlight.

We walk back to his motorcycle slowly. I'm used to riding his bike by now, but unlike all the other times he tells me to sit in front of him for the ride. I will admit I might like riding on his bike with his arms around me a little better, especially now that I'm al wet and the cool breeze is making me shake. We enter the school around 4 in the afternoon and make our way towards his room.

"Hey" I hear Carlos' voice as we enter the boys dorms. "Why are you wet?"

"Long story" I roll my eyes, "What's up?"

"Just a little heads up" he warns us, "Fairy Godmother is looking for you." Well crap. "Both of you" he finishes looking at Ben. "I tried calling you Ben". He reaches into his soaking wet jacket and pulls out his now broken phone.

"I might need to get a new phone" he murmurs to before thanking Carlos for the heads up.

We start walking towards his room again. "We need to change and go see Fairy Godmother. I bet anything she might not be all too happy with -"

"I have been looking everywhere for both of you" Fairy Godmother interrupts as she enters the building. She does not sound pleased. "My office. Both of you. Now"


	4. The Punishment

_Hey guys! This chapter I wrote pretty quickly and haven't really re read it, so if there is something wrong or misspelled just ignore it. Don't know if I like how this one turned out, but the next couple of chapter will be full of fluff ️ Thank you for reading and don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! See you in the next chapter._

* * *

 ** _MAL_**

Fairy Godmother walks out of the building leading the way for us. Before we follow her I turn to face Ben giving him a "it's going to be okay" look as I fix his collar. That's when I notice the wound on his cheek still bleeding slightly.

"Your cheek" I say quietly.

"It's fine" he shakes his head. He feels my concern and kisses the top of my head before grabbing my hand and leading me out of the building.

Could Fairy Godmother really know about the photos? I mean Evie said everyone reads Auradon Uncovered, but I assumed she meant everyone under the age of 30. Jane wouldn't tell her. Right? I try to think of other reasons she would want both of us. Skipping classes, out of campus on school hours, talking during history. I feel a little better for a moment. There are many reasons she might want to see me. But them the photos come back to my mind and I go back to feeling miserable.

We enter her office hand in hand. When she sits in her huge wooden desk Ben lets go of my hand. It's the first time we aren't touching in any way since he rescued me. We are no longer soaking wet but we are still wet.

"What in the name of all that good would let you decide that this was a good idea?" Fairy Godmother places a magazine with the pictures from this morning on her desk. "Or this?" Pictures from last week, "or this?" Pictures from after the coronation. "Should I keep going?"

"It's-" Ben begins to say but I can't let Ben get in trouble.

"It's my fault" I step forwards and Ben grabs my arm but I shake him off. "No Ben. It was my idea and we should never have done it. If you're going to punish someone it's me".

"Well your parents have been informed of the situation, but since their currently attending to business in Winter's Keep I shall be dealing with both of you". I take a deep breath before she continues. "This kind of violation would usually end in expulsion-"

"Wait..." I interrupt panicked, "You're not sending me back to the Isle are you?" I look back at Ben as tears form in my eyes. "I can't go back there. I can't". Ben steps forward and grabs my hand again.

"Mal calm down" she says reassuringly but anger still fills her voice, "under the circumstances thing have to be taken care of differently. You are not to be expelled; however you are suspended for the next 4 weeks. And that means no leaving campus, no extracurriculars or use of the facilities, and you will not be attending regular classes. For the next 4 weeks your classes will be supervised by me". My jaw drops. "As for you" she speaks directly to Ben now, "you are to attend to your royal duties and your are to take private tutoring only until you're parents arrive, then they'll decide what to do with you". She stands up and walks to the other side of her desk, where we are."Suspension would usually mean you are banned from class, but since Ben needs to graduate on time, and Mal had some credits to make up for from before she arrived, the board has made and exception". I have never seen Fairy Godmother this mad before. Not even when Jane grabbed her wand at the coronation. "You are both under strict curfew. I will tend to it myself that you are both in your respective dorms by 7:30 at night". We both open our mouths like we're going to whine and complain, but no sound comes out. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal" we reply in unison accepting our defeat.

"I really don't understand what you two were thinking" she scolds one last time. "So are you going to explain why you're wet? And what happened to Ben's face?"

"Apparently I jumped off a waterfall" I say without thinking

"Apparently?" Fairy Godmother asks shocked.

"I saw her jump off and almost drown" Ben explains, "but when I got her out of the water she didn't remember jumping"

Fairy Godmother is quiet for a few moments as she thinks about what we just told her. "That still doesn't explain your face"

"I just ran into a branch when I was running to the lake" she steps closer to examine the wound.

"It doesn't look too bad, but I still want you to go see the nurse" she instructs.

We begin to walk out of the office when she speaks again. "Not you Mal" she says, "I still need to talk to you about something else". Ben looks at me and I know he wants to stay with me.

"Go" I tell him, "I'll find you after". I give him a quick kiss on his healthy cheek and then watch him leave. I turn around and give Fairy Godmother a slight smirk.

"Please take a seat Mal" I do as commanded as she fetches a tea set for us. God this is probably going to take a while if she's getting tea.

"Tea?" She asks as she pours herself a cup.

"No thank you" I respond politely.

"You're probably freezing" she pours me a cup ignoring my response. "Tea will warm you up"

I accept the cup of tea knowing she won't take no for an answer and take a small sip.

She takes a seat herself, but not on her big chair. She sits on the smaller chair opposite to the one I'm currently sitting on and takes a sip of her drink.

"You're probably wondering what happened on that waterfall" I stare at her confused, "I have been waiting for this to happen since the coronation"

"Waiting for what to happen?" I question placing the cup on the table and forgetting all about it.

"Up until now all the magic you've used has been dark magic" she explains, "but now that you've found the goodness in you your light magic wants to present itself. However, magic is very tricky. You've been dark all your life, and dark magic won't just disappear. While your light magic is getting stronger and stronger, your dark magic is fighting back. This battle you have within you between light and darkness will have its side effects. Today for example. You didn't decide to jump. It was an impulse. And these impulses can be pretty dangerous". She stops to take another sip of her tea.

"So..." I urge her to continue.

"So if you're not careful something horrible may happen. But there is a way to prevent these impulses. If you manage to get as much light magic in you as dark you might just be the most powerful sorceress of all times"

"More powerful than my mother?" I blurt and regret it immediately.

She looks worried for a moment, but it doesn't last long. "So much more powerful that your mother"

I look down in order to hide my smile, but she obviously notices. All I ever wanted was to make my mom proud, and show her how powerful I was, and i can at least do half of that.

"I am going to take you under my wing" she seems a bit less pissed than before but not by much. "I want us to meet for classes at least 5 time a week. We are going to attempt to balance your magic. And since I am now your own personal teacher, I don't think there's going to be a problem with scheduling" she stands up and begins to clean up the tea set. "You may go now. It's a little past 5 so you should take a hot shower before going to dinner. I'll have your new schedule sent to your room"

I get up and walk to the door hoping nothing gets in the way between me and that hot shower.

"Oh and Mal" I stop as I hear her voice again, "be careful. The slightest mean action could make you're dark magic go haywire". I take a deep breath already picturing my magic going crazy out of nowhere.


	5. The Second Post

_Hey guys! I'm really excited about next chapter. Thing are going to get pretty juicy. Thanks to anyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed. Keep leaving your thoughts and suggestions in the reviews. I love reading what you have to say. ❤️ See you next chapter!_

* * *

 _ **EVIE**_

I am worried. No, I've been worried since lunch and it's now dinner. I am way past worried. I haven't heard from Mal since she walked out of the cafeteria. Ben went to find her earlier, but I haven't heard from him from him either. I pick at my food with my fork as I doze off into my thoughts.

"Evie?" I hear Doug say from the other side of the table.

"What?" I ask finally taking a bite of my food

"I have been talking to you for like 10 minutes" he fixes his bow tie as he speaks, "haven't you been listening?"

"Of course I've been listening" I lie and he gives me a disapproving look. "Fine" I sigh, I'm sorry. I'm just really worried about Mal". I start picking at my food again.

"Well the school does have a zero tolerance policy for girls in the boys dorms after curfew, and the other way around"

"Wait, what?!" I say surprised. "You don't think they'll send her back to the Isle?"

"I really doubt they would" he shrugs still fidgeting to fix his bow tie, "but if they got caught, it's not going to be pretty". I drop my fork as I loose my appetite completely. What has Mal gotten herself into. "If your really that worried maybe you should go talk to Jay and Carlos"

I walk over to Doug and help him fix his bow tie. "You're right" I say and give him a kiss on the cheek, "thank you".

Just as I am about to exit the room, Jay bumps into me.

"Hey I was just going to look for you" I say thinking about the coincidence.

"Evie I know I'm good looking but you can't do this to poor Doug" he jokes crossing his arms

"Ha ha very funny" I slap him on the arm, "have you seen Mal after what happened at lunch?"

"No" he shrugs, "I had tourney practice most of the afternoon".

"Hey guys what's going on?" Carlos joins us with Dude on his arm.

"Have you seen Mal?" I ask Carlos

"Yeah" he says, "Ben and Mal were in the boys dorm like and hour or so ago. I don't know why they were both wet but I do know they God called into Fairy Godmother's office"

"I'm going to go see if she's ok" I walk past the boys and Carlos follows me.

"You know even if she says she's fine she's not right?" Sometime he's the most caring boy ever.

"I know" I sigh, "but it's Mal. We have to give her her space or she'll..." I stop for a second. Carlos walks past me until he realizes I have stopped. "Well who knows what she'll do". We continue walking to my room.

The shower in on, so Mal must be taking a shower. It told Carlos to back to the cafeteria once we learned Mal was here. He was hesitant at first, but then he said it was better if we were alone. Mal steps out of the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around her. She staring at the ground before she notices me and jump started.

"Hey" she says walking over to the closet and grabbing some clothes.

"So" I speak with caution, "how'd it go?"

"Well I'm suspended from all school activities until further notice, and from now on my teacher is the one and only Fairy Godmother" she laughs sarcastically as she gets dressed in the bathroom. "Plus I have to take extra classes to control my magic and that's-"

"Your magic?" I interrupt, "what's wrong with your magic?"

"Something crazy happened at the enchanted lake, E"

"What do you mean by something crazy?" I question.

She exits the bathroom in full black clothing. "I jumped in the lake, but I don't remember doing it". I don't know what to say. "Fairy godmother says it's my light magic fighting with my dark magic" she explains but changes the subject, "Have there been any more posts?".

"No" I reassure her as I open the computer, "but there's a section called "The King and his Charity" specially dedicated to you two".

Mal take in a deep breath trying to control her rage. "I'm going to find out who's doing this" she says, "and they're going to pay".

 ** _MAL_**

The first two week of my suspension go by slower than watching paint dry. Classes with Fairy Godmother aren't all that bad, but seeing her all day long takes a toll on you. Our magic lessons on the other hand are exhausting. Every day I drop dead on my bed and it not even 8 o'clock. At first I hated having extra classes, but the first night I spent in my own bed was horrible. I couldn't sleep without Ben's body close to mine. I felt lonely so every morning the girl's dorm would wake up to a fresh batch of cookies. The night Evie found me in the kitchen and I had baked a batch of cookies, a batch of brownies and a batch of cupcakes was the night Evie decided to push our bed together so I wouldn't feel alone. It worked great for like 2 days, but when my magic lessons began there was nothin in this world that could keep me awake.

The worst part of it is that I barely get any time to see Ben. The longest conversation this week was when I was getting my books out of my locker and I asked Ben about the upcoming tourney game.

"So" I said as I opened my locker, "how are you feeling?"

"Pretty bummed to be honest" he admitted. "It's the first game I won't play in and I can't even go watch it"

"I for once am excited about this gam" I smirked

"You?" He questioned suspiciously, "excited about tourney? It can't be"

"It isn't" I closed my locker and took a step closer to Ben. "The whole game shenanigans is going to start at 4 and will probably end by 6:30 which gives us two and a half hours to ourselves without supervision, and enough time to be back in our dorms before Fairy Godmother checks on me and Lumiere checks on you" I smiled proudly.

"I don't think we should be sneaking around Mal" he complained to my dismay. "We're already in enough trouble as it is".

"Come on" I pouted, "This is the longest conversation we've had in the last two weeks. We really need this Ben" I continued to bug him for a few more minutes before he gave in.

"Fine" he threw his hand in the air in defeat, "but I get to choose what we do"

"That's fine by me" I leaned in a little closer, our mouths barely and inch apart. "As long as I'm with you".

Just as we were going to kiss, Fairy Godmother walked by.

"You're late Mal" she said and we separated immediately.

"I'll be right there" I said and turned to give Ben an apologetic look and an "I love you" before following Fairy Godmother into her office for class.

Now it's game day and Evie is getting ready for the game while I'm sitting in the giant bed we made drawing a tree.

"So you're coming to the game?" She asks out of habit

"No Evie" I sigh, "I am banned from all school activities. Remember?"

"Oh right" she looks at me through the mirror, "sorry".

"It's fine" I close my drawing pad. "Go have fun. I'll be here when you get back".

A couple of minutes after Evie leaves I hear a knock on the door that could only mean one thing. Ben. A smile forms on my face. I open the door and there he is.

"Hey" he says with an arm behind his back.

"Hey" I say staring at his green eyes.

"I have a surprise for you" he smiles cockily. He removes his arm from behind his back and reveals a black box with a purple bow wrapped around it. I raise an eyebrow as I open the gift.

"A swimsuit" I say and the smile fades from my face. A deep purple bikini. Why would I need a swimsuit? I look up confused and the smirk on his face makes everything clear.

"No" I refuse, "No, No, No and No!" I walk back into the room. "There is no way you're going to get me into any kind of water".

"You have to learn how to swim, Mal" he tries to convince me, "I can't have you walking around the summer palace or the boat without knowing how to swim"

"What are you saying?" I walk closer to him.

"I want you to come with me to the summer palace when school ends" he puts his arms around me and I look up at him. "I don't want you to be stuck at school all summer and it'll be great" he leans in closer and closer. "Just you and me" he whispers, "all alone" he kisses me softly, "in a big castle" he kisses me again, "with lots and lots of rooms". He picks me up, my legs straddle his hips while our kiss gets deeper and steamier. I start planting kisses on his neck and tangling my hands in his hair.

"Will you join me this summer?" He asks in midst of the heat.

"Yes" I say between kisses "I'll go with you this summer".

"But you have to learn how to swim" he hustles me.

I push myself away from him and stare at him angrily. How did I not see this coming? I guess it's sweets that he wants me today be safe, but it's still annoying.

"Fine" I give up. "but I'm not walking around campus wearing just this", I show him the swimsuit.

"At least try it on" he puts me down and I go change into the bikini.

Once I'm done I walk out and Ben eyes light up. I blush from his reaction, and my pale skin makes it pretty obvious.

"Now what?" I ask hoping to continue our previous kiss. He walk towards me and just as I think he is going to kiss me he pick me up and throws me over his shoulder.

"Now" I know he's smiling even if I can't see his face, "we learn how to swim".

I struggle to get out of his grip, but it's not working. He's taking me to the school's indoor pool which we technically don't have access to since we're suspended.

"Benjamin Florian" I mutter, "you put me down right now". He doesn't obey, instead he laughs.

Once we're in the pool room, he finally puts me down. I cross my arms and give him a disapproving look. He give me a peck on the cheek before jumping into the pool. When he surfaces he shakes his wet hair and smiles his perfect smile.

"Come on" he say, "I'll catch you"

I sit down on the wooden bench where Ben had clearly left towels before coming to get me.

"Do you trust me?" He asks from the border of the pool

"Yes" I sigh, "I just don't trust the water"

"Then jump" he says sympathetically, "I promise I'll catch you".

I take a deep breath before I get up from the bench. I stand at the edge of the pool. I can't do it. I can't just jump into the pool.

"I promise" Ben say one last time before and before I know it I'm in the water and in his arms.

 ** _EVIE_**

Auradon is losing the game. Jay is carrying the entire team, but it's not enough without Ben playing. Carlos left the team a few weeks ago and has been spending his afternoons in a local pet shelter so he is on the bleachers with me. Everyone keeps cheering even though they all know we are not going to win. The halftime buzzer goes off and suddenly everyone's looking down at their phones whispering. I look at Carlos and he looks just as confused as I am.

"Hey what's going on?" I ask Lonnie who's sitting besides me. She just hands me her phone on the "The King and his Charity" section on Auradon Uncovered and a picture of Ben carrying Mal into the pool shows up. She's just wearing a swimsuit. I scroll down to see another picture of them. This time there in the pool and Mal is clinging to Ben like her life depends on it.

"They're in trouble" I whisper to Carlos.

I look down and watch Fairy Godmother storm out of the field angrily. My eyes meet Jay's and without even speaking we know what to do. Jay leaves the teams huddle and walks out of the field.

"Let's go" I tell Carlos and the three of us start running to the pool hoping to get there before Fairy Godmother does.


	6. The Incident

_I could have never imagined this story having this many follows! I am so glad people are liking my story. Thanks so much for following reviewing and favoriting this story. I love you all ❤️ See you guys next chapter (little heads up, it's going to be pretty intense)_

 _Keep reviewing. You have no idea how happy it makes me. Leave questions for me and I'll answer them in the next chapter._

* * *

 ** _BEN_**

Mal has been doing great considering her stubbornness towards water. She's currently clinging on to me like a koala and her nails are digging deep into the back of my neck. She not planning to let go.

"Mal you can let go now" I laugh, "we're in the shallow end". To my surprise, I feel her nails leaving my skin as she loosens her grip on me and stands up. "See its not that bad" I take her hands in mine,"You'll be swimming like a pro in no time".

Suddenly, Evie, Jay and Carlos come running in. They look pretty frantic and they are panting like they've just finished a marathon.

"What's going on?" Mal asks getting out of the pool. I follow her out and wrap a towel around her before grabbing my own towel.

"Everyone knows you two are here" Jay explains as Evie hands her phone to Mal. I can't see what's on the screen, but Mal's reaction tells me it's not good.

"Fairy Godmother is on her way" Carlos warns.

"We need to get out of here" Evie grabs Mal's hand pulling her towards the exit, but Mal refuses to move.

"No!" Mal yells freeing herself from Evie. "These photos were taken from up there", she drops the towel and points at the viewing balcony where people sit when there's a swim meet. Her breaths become quick and she curls her hands into fists as a green light radiates from her body.

"Mal calm down" I grab her shoulder, but she shakes me off.

"No Ben!" The green glow begins to throb around her, "I am going to find out who's doing this".

She storms off towards the balcony and I go after her . Evie, Carlos and Jay stay behind. I've never seen her so shaken up before. She runs up the stairs faster than I have ever seen her move. When I reach the balcony she stand with her back to me while she looks down at Evie's phone. The green light has deepened in color and is now radiating all around her. Fairy Godmother warned us about her powers when she started her lessons, but nothing had happened up until now. I take a few steps towards her with caution.

"Good Luck trying to find me..." she reads from Auradon Uncovered, "and a picture of us right here on the balcony".

"Mal" I say softly hoping it'll calm her down, "please come here and we'll talk about this"

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" She yells, her voice echoing. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US?!"

The lights in the large room begin to flicker because of Mal's powers. Rays of green light burst out of her body causing lightbulbs to break and bricks to crumble. I keep walking towards her.

"We'll figure this out" she turns around as I speak, her eyes glowing emerald green. "Together".

"I can't control it" she takes a step away from me and I take a step forwards. Her eyes are still glowing green, but now they're full of fear.

"Yes you can" I encourage, "you just have to believe in yourself".

"Stay back Ben" the green orb that surrounds her grows bigger, "I don't want to hurt you".

It all happens in a single moment. I feel Mal scream, and before I can do anything I feel myself being launched backwards into the balcony railing as Mal's powers bursts out of her.

Smoke fills the air while the brick and stone wall crumbles above us. I hear Evie screech as all the lightbulbs burst leaving us in pitch black darkness. I sharp pain hits my right shoulder, but it doesn't stop me from getting up.

I walk through the rubble until I see her standing there looking shocked. The green orb is getting smaller and smaller every second, but it still shines just enough that I can see her face.

"I'm sorry" she whispers before her eyes close and she collapses just as the green light disappears completely. I catch her before her head hits the ground, but I can barely move my right arm.

I groan as I try to carry her, but my shoulder hurts too much.

Jay, Carlos, and Evie Rush up the stairs. Jay picks up Mal's limp body.

"Come on" Carlos urges helping me up and Evie grabs her phone from the floor.

I hold my right arm close to my chest making my way down the stairs. I grab another towel and cover Mal since she is just wearing a swimsuit. I push her hair out of her face and she feels really warm.

"What happened in hear?!" Fairy Godmother questions from the door.

"Mal couldn't control her powers" I explain. Jay puts Mal down on the bench and I kneel next to her. "It came out of nowhere, and when it was gone she passed out".

Evie joins me and puts her hand to Mal's forehead. "She's running a fever" she says.

Fairy Godmother does the same and nods. "I feared this would happen" she's mad, but too concerned to yell at us right now. "Take her to the infirmary" she tells Jay and he picks up Mal again and leaves.

"I'll go with him" Evie smiles sympathetically and leaves.

"Yeah me too" Carlos agrees and follows Evie out which just leaves me and fairy godmother.

She stares at me, anger filling her expression. She warned us this could happen.

"I warned you this could happen" she barks. "This is why I've been adding more and more hours to her training. If Mal's occupied and distracted it allows less time for things like this to occur."

"I'm sorry" I try running my right hand through my hair out of habit and groan in pain. I grab my right arm carefully as the pain slowly fades.

"We'll talk about this later" she says, "you should go get your arm checked out while I deal with this mess".

 _ **MAL**_

My eyes blink a couple of time before I finally open them. I'm in the infirmary. All the white around me makes that clear. A distinctive mutter comes from outside my room; however, I don't recognize the voices. I'm wearing black pajamas and Ben's letterman jacket. I try pushing myself up, but the room spins and I'm going to be sick. Before I puke my guts out, Carlos hold a bucket in front of me.

"She's awake" he informs while I throw up. Evie, Ben and Fairy Godmother rush into the room. Ben's arm hangs in a sling.

"How're you feeling?" He asks grabbing my hand and handing me a napkin.

"Horrible" I admit, "what happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Fairy Godmother steps forwards.

"Um" I think, "The post".

Everyone is silent for a few seconds. What did I do? Where's Jay? So many questions fill my head.

"You lost control of your powers" Evie speaks first, "and then you passed out".

"Your body is exhausted from all the magic it radiated" Fairy Godmother explains, "you've been asleep for a couple of days".

I stare at Ben's arm. "I did that?".

"It's fine" he smiles, "it's just a dislocated shoulder".

It's not fine I think. It's not okay that I caused this and I can't even remember it. My head begins to pound and I close my eyes tightly.

"What's wrong?" Ben worries

"My head hurts" I rub my eyes.

"That's normal" Fairy Godmother states, "you'll probably be nauseated, lightheaded and have a pretty bad headache".

"So basically she'll be hungover" Carlos jokes. I would have laughed if my head wasn't hurting so much.

"You should get some rest" Fairy Godmother walks out of the room, "I'll be back in a while to check on you".

I try getting up, but Ben pushes me back down.

"No you don't" he stands up, "you heard her. You need to rest"

"I've been sleeping for two days" I defend my decision, "what I need is to stand up?"

I try to get up, but he pushes me back again.

"I'll be here when you wake up" he whispers and I close my eyes. It doesn't take long before I drift off to sleep.


	7. The Fall

_So this one is a little shorter than usual, but I really like how it turned out. I'm getting really excited for what's about to come. Thanks to everyone who has followed/ favorited/ reviewed and if you haven't don't be scared to do it._

 ** _dreamitdoit:_** _"how many chapter do you think you'll write?" I'm don't know how many chapters this is going to be, but I have a pretty clear idea of what's going to happen. I guess it'll just depend on how I write it._

 _Please leave a review you have no idea how happy they make me. Ask me anything and I'll answer it in the next chapter, until then... ❤️_

* * *

 _ **MAL**_

I open my eyes to Carlos. He is sound asleep on the couch that's in my infirmary room. His elbow is placed on the armrest and his head is resting on his hand. I smile at his peaceful state.

"He hasn't left this room since you got here" Evie walks into the room. "He literally showered in the infirmary bathroom". She sits on the couch next to Carlos carefully so he doesn't wake up.

"Where's Ben?" I ask surprised that his not here. "He said he'd be here when I woke up"

"He sat by your side and just stared at you for over an hour but..." she stops and I raise an eyebrow urging her to continue, "his parents are back early. He had to go to his dorm rooms , but he said he'd be back as soon as possible"

Well, crap.

"How are you feeling?" She changes the subject quickly.

"I'm fine" I sit up, "a little sore, but ultimately okay".

"Jay should be here soon with food" she smiles, "what do you feel like having?"

I feel a sudden need to throw up in the back of my throat when she mentions food.

"Right now?" I swallow hoping to buy some time, "that bucket".

She hands the bucket to me quickly and just in time, and then hands me a napkin when I'm done. A nurse come in and takes my temperature. "102.4" she gives me a warm smile, "it's going down".

"I'll be back in an hour to check it again" she grabs the barf bucket and starts walking out, "if your temperature gets to 99.0 you'll be out of here tomorrow morning".

"Thank you" Evie says nicely as the nurse leaves the room.

"Any new posts?" I grin sarcastically.

"There's a picture of Jay carrying you in here, one of Ben and the arm sling, and then one of Ben's parents arriving" she doesn't even have to look at her phone.

"Who do you think it is?" I ask her out of curiosity.

"I think we all have the same person in mind" I roll my eyes at her response.

"Audrey?" I ask but I already know the answer is yes. "I guess it makes sense, but really?"

"It's not me" Audrey walks into the room, "not anymore anyways". Her heels click on the linoleum floor as she walk to the end of the bed. "I started the posts, but a few days ago I was hacked"

"YOU LITTLE B-" I start to get up, but a dizzy spill hits me and I fall back into the bed.

"You need to leave" Evie threatens her with her head held up high, "now."

"I'll take it from here ladies" Fairy Godmother steps into the room. "Audrey" she calls her out into the hallway.

"I really am sorry Mal" she says before leaving, "I never meant for it to go this far".

Evie gives her the death glare until she has completely disappears from our view.

"E" she turns to look at me again, "I think I'm going to sleep this dizziness off"

"I'll go get you some water for when you wake up" she leaves as well and I join Carlos in a deep sleep.

I'm alone when I wake up. No headache, no dizziness, no need to throw up. I can't believe I'm still tired when all I've done is sleep.

"You two are sixteen years old" Beast's voice roars from the hall, "for all we know that poor girl could be pregnant".

"She's not, okay" Ben responds, "We were careful I promise"

"You know how important it is to maintain a good profile" Beast roars again, "not everyone in the kingdom agrees with you taking the throne, and scandals like these aren't going to help your case"

My heart sinks into my stomach. All I have done is hurt Ben. Whenever we're together he always ends up in trouble. I can't keep hurting him like this.

"Who cares what they all think?" He doesn't mean it. He knows how important it is for people to like him.

"This is serious Benjamin" Belle's voice comes from the other side of the closed door.

"You think I don't know that" he fights back, "I could have lost her today mom. She's the love of my life, and I know you're going to say we're too young to know that for sure, but I love her. I really do love her, and nothing you say is going to make me leave her. I'm staying with her, forever".

The doorknob wiggles and I quickly pretend to be sleeping. He paces for a while before grabbing my hands and planting a kiss on it. "I love you Mal, did I mention that?".

It takes everything I have to not turn around and tell him that I love him. As long as he's with me, he'll never get the kingdom's approval. As long as he's with me, he's in danger. As long as he's with me, he can't be king. I hold in my sobs as tears spill from my closed eyes. I know what I have to do.

"Hey" Ben says cheerfully as I get ready to leave the infirmary. My temperature is finally at 98.8 and I haven't thrown up in more than 12 hours which means I get to go back to my room and back to classes. I should be happy, but I'm not.

"Hey" I say with a dry voice.

"Audrey's off the cheerleading squad until further notice" he tries to cheer me up.

"I heard" I turn my back on him.

"I'm so glad your okay" he wraps his good arm around my waist and I instantly push him away.

"That great" I say and he looks at me confused.

"What's going on Mal?" he asks "you're acting really strange".

I take in a deep breath and count to 10. I hate doing this. I hate it so much, but it has to be done. It's what's best for everyone.

"Look Ben" I start seriously, "I love the time we have spent together, and you showed me what it's like to be good, but you have an entire kingdom to rule and I have a long journey ahead of me. It might take years for me to balance out my powers, and what you need right now is stability. And I am not stable"

His face goes from confused to sad to distraught and I can't watch any longer. "So what are you saying?".

"We just can't be together" I lie before taking off his letterman jacket and handing it back to him. "Goodbye Ben" I give him a soft kiss on the cheek and leave him standing there shocked.

I walk back to my room alone hoping to run straight into Evie's arms, but when I open the door she's not there. Carlos in sitting on Evie's bed staring at the computer.

"Hey you're finally out" he closes the computer and stands up. "Where's Ben?"

I ignore his question and instead ask one of my own. "Where's Evie?" My voice cracks.

"She's helping Doug out with something" he explains and I turn my back to him hoping that he doesn't notice I'm holding back tears, "Mal what's wrong?". He knows.

"I think I just broke up with Ben" I turn around and can't hold it in any longer. I break out crying uncontrollably. I feel my knees weaken like the world has just been ripped from beneath my feet

Instead of saying anything, Carlos just takes me into a hug and I burry my face in his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay" he strokes my back softly, "We're all here for you. Even though we might not always be here literally, we're always here for you whenever you need us".

This hurts. I can literally feel pain in my chest. I didn't know what love felt like, but Ben taught me, and now I think I am learning what a broken heart feels like.


	8. The Aftermath

_Hey guys! I can't believe this has 50 review. I am so so so happy._

 _I'm trying to incorporate all your suggestions into the story. If you have any suggestions leave them in the reviews._

 _I tried to clear any doubts some of you had, but if you still have any doubts feel free to ask me through a revie or a PM._

 _Thanks for following favoriting and reviewing, and if you haven't please do. Pretty please leave a review and ask me any question (about the story or about me) and I'll answer it in the next update. Until then. Stay awesome ❤️_

* * *

 _ **EVIE**_

When I finish helping Doug with his Home Ec assignment, sewing a dress, I head straight to my room. Mal's probably back by now since she was released this morning. I open the door to something totally unexpected. Carlos and Mal are on the beds which are still pushed together. Her head is on his chest and her eyes, even though their closed, look puffy. She's asleep, but Carlos isn't.

"How long have you been there?" I ask taking off my jacket.

"I have no idea" Mal moves slightly, but she doesn't wake up, "She cried herself to sleep"

"She was crying?" I sit on the edge of the bed

"She broke up with Ben" he strokes Mal's hair.

"WHAT!" I raise my voice and Mal stirs. "When? Why? How? I mean-"

"Slow down Evie" he interrupts, "All I know is she broke up with him. She said something about always getting him in trouble and not getting the kingdom's approval, but I couldn't really understand her through the sobs".

"Poor Mal" I look down and think about the situation, "and poor Ben, I can't imagine what he's going through".

A quick know I on the door catches my attention. I leave Carlos and Mal on the bed and go open the door.

"Ben!" I'm shocked to see him.

"Where Mal?" His voice is frantic, "I need to talk to Mal?"

I close the door behind me and joint Ben in the hall. He doesn't look like he's been crying, but his expression is a mixture of worried, confused, and eager.

"She's asleep" I cross my arms, "Ben, what the hell happened?"

"I don't even know" he runs his hand through his hair, "one second she's fine and then she starts talking about how we can't be together anymore and-" his voice cracks and his hands are shaking.

"What happened to Audrey?" I try distracting him from having a full blown breakdown.

"She was in Fairy Godmother's office the last time I saw her" he takes in a deep breath and calms down a little, "Her parents and her grandmother were also there. Fairy Godmother is getting as much information about the blog as she can. I overheard that Audrey is finishing this year, but she is not going to be allowed back for senior year".

"That sucks" I mutter.

"For her" Ben spits out harsher than I would expect. "What should I do Evie?"

"Right now you need to give her some space" I say genuinely, "this dark magic vs. light magic thing has taken a toll on her, and she would probably kill me if she heard me but she can't handle all this drama on her own".

"Who says she's on her own?" He debates, "she's got you, Carlos, Jay, and she's got me"

"Maybe we see it that way" I explain, "but Mal wants to handle it all on her own. It's how she was raised, and it's going to take some time for her to realize she can't do it alone". He doesn't respond. "Go" I push him towards the exit, "relax, take a bath, get a massage, whatever, just give it some time". He leaves involuntarily with a miserable expression on his face.

I go back into my room and sit with Carlos and Mal until Jay decides to join us. This has gone on for far too long, and it needs to stop.

"We need to do something" I interrupt the boys who were talking. "I know you said we should wait and see if it would just pass" I turn to Jay. "But it's not, and it's testing Ben and Mal apart".

"We tried tracking down the person online and it didn't work" Carlos reminded

"Then we try something else" I encourage them. "Whatever it takes" I put my hand in.

"Whatever it takes" Carlos nods and puts his hand in as well.

"Whatever it takes" Jay agrees.

"So here's the plan then" ...

 _ **MAL**_

I am walking to Fairy Godmothers office when I her it. Ben's voice. I haven't seen him in two days and the sound of his voice makes me stop and listen for a second.

"So you don't know who hacked the site?" He asks and he sounds very serious.

"Audrey said that she got the original picture because she saw Mal climbing out of your window early in the morning, so she woke up early the next day and thought she could use the pictures to get Mal sent back to the Isle".

"And nothing on the hacker?" He asks annoyed

"I assure you when we find out who is doing this they will be punished accordingly" Fairy Godmother speaks softly, "but for now we're doing everything we can to find out who's doing it".

"Well your not doing enough" he barks and leaves the room.

I walk towards the door without thinking and run straight into Ben's chest. His arm is still in the sling and his hair is tussled. I stare up at his green eyes for a second before moving to the side and ignoring him. It hurts, but I hold my chin up and enter Fairy Godmother's office.

"Oh Mal, do come in" she stands up, "are you ready for your lesson?"

I want to answer, but I can't. All I can do is think about Ben and how he must be feeling.

"Mal?" She says again and I snap out of it.

"What?"

"I said are you ready to begin our lessons?" She asks again.

"Yes" I lie. The last thing I want to do right now is magic.

After three hours of magic lessons,mi am exhausted. Today's training has been awful. I can't do anything right. Right now I'm trying to turn a stupid plant back into seeds.

"I'm done" I raise my hands in defeats, "I can't do this".

"What's on you're mind Mal?" She asks calmly. Sometime I hate how calm that woman can be. "Clearly there's something on your mind. I've seen you do harder magic exercises with ease".

"I'm sorry" I grab my left arm with my right hand, "you're right. I'm distracted today. There's just so much going on".

"I know how much you've gone through this year" she puts her soft hand on her shoulder. "Ben's a nice young man, and he will stand by you no matter what". I look down at the floor as she speaks. "We're done for today. Go relax and do something nice with your friends"

I take a deep breath, give her a weak smile and walk out of her office.

It's been rough. Every time something happens my first thought is I have to tell Ben. When I have nothing to do the first thing I think about is going to find Ben. Yesterday I almost told him I was wrong, but his parents were with him and that reminded me why I broke up with him in the first place. I can't control my feelings, I can't control my magic, I can't even control my thoughts anymore. I'm lost. Wait, I am literally lost. I don't know where I am. I've been walking aimlessly through campus and I find myself in a dark alley.

This alley looks a little like the Isle. If the walls were all filled with graffiti, it would look pretty much the same. A sudden rattling noise by the dumpster at the end of the alley catches my attention.

"Hello?" I say and my voice echoes, "is anyone there?"

No one answers, but there a louder rattling noise. I walk forwards slowly heading towards the dark end of the alley. With each step I can see the dumpster better and better. When I'm a few feet away I see a silhouette by the dumpster. I take one more step and a face comes into focus. Jane. What is Jane doing in this dark alley?

"Jane?" I cross my arms, "what are you doing?"

She stand there and just stares at me. Her stare is cold end empty, like she's looking right past me. I wave my hand in front of her face to see if she snaps out of it, but she doesn't. Her expression is vacant. Her eyes are empty and dark, but for a moment I swear I see them shine a bright emerald green. I wasn't scared, until now. I take a step back and accidentally knock over a box full of cans. It makes a startling noise, but what I here afterwards startles me even more.

"Hey Mal" Jane finally speaks.

I gasp and place my hand on my chest. "What are you doing here?".

"Just throwing away some trash" she smiles, "want to walk back together?"

It takes me a moment to reply. There's no way I'm walking all the way to the dorm with her. I'm too freaked out right now. "I have some thing to take care of before heading back to the dorm" I lie.

She smiles again and walks past. I watch her walk out of the alley in awe.

What the hell just happened?


	9. The Plan

_I wasnt sure if I should post this chapter or not, but I'm way too lazy to rewrite it._

 _I love reading your reviews so keep them coming.(I alway try to incorporate all the suggestions and requests that are left in the reviews). Also leave me any question about the story or about myself and I'll answer in the next chapter_

 _Thanks for all your support. And be sure to follow favorite and review if you haven't already. Until next chapter...❤️_

* * *

 _ **BEN**_

I'm going crazy. That's the only reasonable explanation. Mal left me with no explanation. Audrey was the one who posted the stupid pictures, and she got hacked. I'm going crazy, because there's no way all this is actually happening. I find myself in front of Audrey with the sudden need to growl and yell at her, but I restrain myself.

"Packing?" I ask when I notice the boxes in her room, "I thought you weren't leaving until the end of the year?"

"I have a lot of stuff" she shrugs, "Most of this stuff usually stays here during the summer, but since I'm not coming back and we only have a couple of months of school left..." she doesn't finish, but I know what she means. "So what are you doing here?"

"I just need to know Audrey" I lean against the door. "Why'd you do it?"

"I already told you" she goes back to packing stuff into boxes, "I wanted them to go back to the Isle"

"I don't buy it" I shake my head and walk into her room. "Everyone knows you and Jay get along pretty well" I raise an eyebrow, "so why'd you actually do it?"

She stares at the ground for a second and sighs. "Fine, but you can't tell anyone" I nod and she stops packing to explain, "I saw Mal climbing out your window when I was sneaking out of Jay's room. It was the night Carlos went on the field trip to History Island, so Jay had the room to himself. I took a picture of her climbing out the window. It was one picture, and I thought about posting it, but I didn't." I am officially confused. "But for some reason I found myself outside of your room every morning taking pictures of her climbing out the window, and by lunch I didn't even remember taking them. I still don't remember most of the times. One morning I was in my room and I opened my computer to like 200 notifications. They were all comments on my newest post, but I didn't know what post they were all commenting on. When I opened it I saw the picture of you two through your window. The next day I couldn't log into the blog at all".

"How can you not remember doing all that?" This makes no sense to me.

"Sometimes I remember being outside your dorm" she continues packing, "but never taking the pictures, just seeing them on my computer later in the day".

"And you didn't tell Fairy Godmother about this?" I'm shocked, but then again she could be lying.

"I told my parents" she shakes her head, "that's why I'm homeschooling next year and not transferring to a new school. They think I'm going crazy or something". She takes in a deep breath, "and I'm actually starting to believe I really am going crazy". She turn around, but I know she's crying. "You should go" in an instant the tears stop and her confidence is back, or at least it seems like it. "I have a lot of stuff to do".

"You're not crazy Audrey" I say as I leave her room.

"You're sweet" she smiles, "but sometime you just can't see what's right in front of you. Bye Ben"

She closes the door and her last words stick in my mind.

 _ **EVIE**_

"Okay" I say standing around the table in the boys room with Carlos and Jay. "So we got this?"

"Yep" Jay responds immediately but Carlos just stares at the table.

"Carlos?" I ask and he snaps out of it.

"Yeah, sorry" he shakes his head, "I just realized last time we were standing around this table like this was when Mal told is the plan to steal the wand". There's a long silence and we're all thinking the same thing. How did we go from rotten to the core to what we are today?

"Yeah" I shake the thought off, "but this time we're not resting until we find this perv".

"Right" the boys say in unison and we head to our classes.

When the lunch bell rings we all get into place. Mal usually comes to lunch a few minutes after the bell rings since Fairy Godmother's office is a little far; however, Ben has been eating in his room since Mal broke up with him, but Jay says he eats with the tourney team every Thursday. It's Thursday, and it's time to put our plan to work.

I'm eating lunch like I would everyday. Carlos slides next to me and opens his laptop.

"Everything ready?" I ask as he types away.

"Yes" his eyes are glued to the screen, "I have cameras setup all around the cafeteria, and the three exits which are the main door, the door to the picnic tables, and through the kitchen". He hits one last key and a set of cameras lineup throughout the screen. "The exits have built in motion sensor" he explains pointing at a blinking red light on the screen, "see there? People are going to the tables outside, so the light is blinking. When Mal gets here there won't be this many people so well be able to see it clearly. "

He's right. When Mal gets here most people have already eaten and left. The cafeteria line is on a platform and the tables are a few steps below. I look at Ben who's sitting right by the platform, his arm no longer in a sling, and then I look at Jay who's standing on the platform and it's on.

When Mal walks right above Ben, Jay jumps into action.

"Charming go long" he throws a the tourney ball and Chad moves backwards knocking Mal off the platform. Just as we planned Ben catches her bridal style with ease. They look right into each other's eyes in sync. "Gotcha" Ben says softly.

My phone buzzes immediately. A picture of Mal falling, a picture of Ben catching her, and a picture of them staring at each other. This perv is quick.

"The pictures came from there" I point at the hall that leads to the kitchen, and almost instantly the camera on the kitchen exit starts blinking. All we see is a head with long hair and a headband flying off the head. It's a girl.

"Let's go" Carlos says and we start running to the kitchen. Jay catches up with us as we run past him.

I bust the door open and there it is. Absolutely nothing. A lonely alley with a dumpster. I can't believe we didn't see who it was. I walk forwards a little and that's when I notice it. I kneel down and pick up a thin metal headband with a beautiful jeweled pattern on the left side. At least we know it's a girl.

"What are you guys doing?" I hear Mal's pissed off voice. I stand up and hide the headband behind my back. Mal's standing by the exit with Ben right behind her.

"Nothing" Carlos responds with no further explanation.

"Oh really?" She crosses her arms, "because from what I can tell, you're all trying to get us back together". I'd rather her be mad at me for the wrong thing than risk her finding out. She'll probably freak out and her powers will go crazy, so for now this has to remain a secret. "You know what" she scoffs, "ever since this whole 'I choose good' thing everyone's been treating me like I'm weak"

"No one thinks your weak Mal" Ben puts his hand on her shoulder but shrugs it off and continues.

"Yes you do" she rants, "you all act like I'm going to break at any second, and I'm not. I can take care of myself thank you very much".

She walks past Ben and back into the building. Ben goes after her, and Carlos takes a step to follow her as well but I grab his arm.

"Don't" he looks at me annoyed, "I know you want to go comfort her, but you have to let her go for now". I let go of his arm when I know he won't just run off after Mal.

"So we got nothing out of this?" Jay asks disappointed.

"Not exactly" I reveal the headband from behind my back, "we have this, and it's going to tell us who the hell is posting on this blog".

 _ **MAL**_

I run down the out of the kitchen and down the hall. I can't believe my own friends would do this to me. Of all the people that could hurt me it had to be my friends. I run into the girls bathroom. I can't cry. I'm strong, I am not weak, and I can take care of myself. I splash water in my face and when I look up I flinch. I can see Lonnie through the mirror. She stands behind me just staring. Her face is vacant and her stare is empty. I turn around and stand right in front of her. What is happening? She's completely still, and no matter what I do she doesn't even flinch. Her eyes suddenly glimmer a bright emerald green. It's so fast it's barely visible, but it's there. I take a step back and get the hell out of there. As I'm walking out of the bathroom I feel a hand wrap around my arm. I let out a scream before hard smack in the head knocks me out and I fade into darkness.


	10. The Subconscious

_Hey guys! I'm loving all of your reviews and taking everything I read into account._

 _The guest who asked about Evie's mirror: there's a reason why she hasn't used it. I guess I thought of it and never actually wrote about it, but it's explained in this chapter._

 _Please follow favorite and review if you haven't already, and I'll see you in the next chapter. So Without further ado, here's chapter 10❤️_

* * *

 _ **MAL**_

A sharp pain in the back of my head jolts me awake. I'm in a cold dark room with rocky walls and no apparent way out. I reach a hand to the back at my head and wince at the touch. It burns. When I look at my hand again, it's covered in bright red blood. I stare at the blood for a couple of seconds, but my focus is pulled by a blinding flash of green light. When the light fades and my sight returns there's a green orb of power floating in the middle of the dark room. It spins slowly as I circle around it. I lift one hand and reach into the green light. It grows in an instant and fills most of the small room, knocking me to the side. It slowly becomes smaller and smaller, but keeps the room from complete darkness. When it's almost nonexistent a figure stands on the other side.

"Hello Darling" my mothers face appears on the other side of the green light with an evil smile.

"Mother?" My eyes widen in shock. I don't understand.

 _ **EVIE**_

After classes I head to my dorm room. I'm surprised Mal isn't there when I arrive. Fairy Godmother changed her curfew a couple of days ago from 7:30 to 8:00, but since the brake up she's usually back right after her classes end. I send her a text and change to go hang out with Doug. However, when it's almost 9:00 and she hasn't texted back I start to worry. When the movie I was watching with Doug ends, I kiss him goodbye and walk back hoping that Mal's there when I open the door. She's not there. I go to Ben's room and knock at the door. It takes a few seconds, but he opens the door in his typical blue blazer.

"Hey is Mal here?" I ask like nothing's going on.

"No" he sounds disappointed and the dark circles and red eyes show he hasn't been sleeping well lately. "She's probably in your room. Remember we have an 8:00 curfew"

"Yeah" I nod, "but she's not there".

"Did you check Jay and Carlos room?" He suggests.

"No" I shake my head. Of course she could be in their room. "I just assumed she'd be here. Thanks" I smile and start to walk away.

"Wait" I spin around and Ben leaves his room. "I'll come with you"

We walk to the boys room and knock on the door. Jay opens up and I can see Carlos hypnotized with some video game in the back.

"Is Mal here?" I ask frantically.

"No" she shakes his head, "have you gone to Ben's?"

"She's not with me" Ben steps into view. We all stare at each other unsure of what to do next.

"What going on?" Carlos breaks the silence.

"Mal's missing" Jay explains and Carlos grabs his jacket.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Carlos walks past us and stands in the hall, "let's go find her".

"Won't she be mad that we're babying her?" Jay asks grabbing his jacket and closing the door.

"She might say she doesn't need help" Carlos says sternly, "but she does, and we're going to be there for her no matter what she says"

"You're right" I nod, "lets go".

We all start walking to the exit.

"Where are we going exactly?" Ben asks

"We should check your room to see if she left anything that could tell us where she is" Jay suggests, and that's exactly what we do.

There's nothing in our room. We've searched and searched and searched, but all we have found is a half eaten strawberry yogurt in Mal's bedside table. Where could she be?

A knock on the door makes us all stop. I walk slowly to the door and open it half way.

"Hello Evie" it's Fairy Godmother probably checking if Mal's obeying her curfew. "Is Mal here? I came by a 8:15 but nobody answered the door".

"Yes" I lie, "she's been asleep since pretty early. I guess she didn't hear you when you came by".

"I was worried about her" Fairy Godmother knows I'm lying, I can tell. "She never came back to class after lunch". Crap. I have to tell her.

I take in a deep breath and sigh. "Fine" I look down, "she's not here". I open the door all the way and reveal everyone in the room, "we don't know where she is".

"She never showed up to class?" Ben steps forwards. Faith Godmother shakes her head.

I can't take it anymore. When we all chose good we promised to leave everything we had that reminded us of our past behind. I guess it was a way of leaving everything about our parents and the Isle behind, and a good start to trying to be like the other kids in Auradon. Mal put the book away and hasn't touched it since. Carlos loves dogs now. Jay hasn't stolen anything since the promise. And I haven't touched the magic mirror, but I can't just sit by when Mal could be in big trouble.

I walk to my nightstand and push it out of the way. Then I kneel down and reach for a box hidden under my bed. I stare at it for a second before opening it. Inside I see Mal's book and my magic mirror.

"What about the promise?" Jay asks.

"I don't care about some stupid promise" I hold out the mirror and look at myself before speaking, "Mirror, mirror in my hand tell me where Mal's at". Everyone, except Fairy Godmother gathers around me as the mirror shows a dark scenery with Mal's unconscious body lying on the ground. "Magic Mirror not so close" I zoom out a little and now it shows the Forrest next to the school. "She's in the middle of the forrest" I say to Fairy Godmother.

Ben, Jay and Carlos look at each other before taking off without a second thought.

"Wait!" I take off after them. "You're not going to find her without the mirror".

We all run into the Forrest, politely ignoring Fairy Godmother telling us to stay put and that she would deal with this.

"Keep north" I say looking into the mirror. We've been walking in the woods for a good 10 minutes. We can no longer see the lights from the school. The only light we have is the mirror. "Stop!" I yell and the boys freeze. I look around and spot something purple on the ground. "There!" I point to Mal's body.

Ben picks her up, her limp body causing her head to hang back. "She's bleeding" Ben points out as we hurry back to camp with the help of the magic mirror. I can see the blood covering her forehead, and her hair has gone from purple to burgundy from the blood on the back of her head.

We go straight to the infirmary where Fairy Godmother awaits. Ben places Mal on a bed and we stay outside of the room.

"No" I hear Ben yell as we pace in the hallway, "I'm staying with her".

"You need to wait outside" a nurse says softly, but Ben's not having it. His hands are now fists and his breath are quick.

"I am the King" he growls, "you can't tell me what to do". He looks like his father before the spell broke, well without all the hair.

"Benjamin" I turn around to see Belle and Beast in the entryway. "You shall not speak to anyone in that tone, no matter how stressed out you are".

Ben's body seems to grow smaller from the stance he had before. His hands relax and he fixes his suit. "Sorry" he apologizes to the poor nurse and leaves the room.

Belle stares at her little boy with concern, but she doesn't mention his red eyes, dark circles, or his messy hair. "Fairy Godmother called" she says fixing Ben's suit, "what happened to Mal?"

"We don't know" I say because I know Ben won't be able to control himself. We stand in a silence so long that it would seem awkward, but under the circumstances it's kind of calming.

"She's okay" Fairy Godmother walks out of the room and we all exhale like we've all been holding our breath. "She has a cut on the back of her head and one on her hairline, but other than that she's fine" she doesn't sound too convinced.

"But..." Carlos says trying to get more information out of her.

"But there's something weird going on" she admits.

"What do you mean by weird?" I ask what everyone's thinking.

"When she got here Mal only had the two cuts I said" she explains, "but as Doc was checking her out another cut appeared on her chin, and then her arm started to bruise out of nowhere"

"So what does this mean?" Ben moves towards Fairy Godmother.

"It means she's not waking up until-" Fairy Godmother begins, but Ben interrupts her my storming into Mal's room. We all follow him and watch him grab Mal's hand.

"True love's kiss" he whispers and kisses her slowly, but Mal doesn't wake up.

"I was kind of hoping it would work" Fairy Godmother mutters, "but since it didn't it could only mean one thing" Ben is hypnotized by Mal as his eyes start to water, "There's something in her mind that won't allow her to wake up. She's stuck in her subconscious".

And that's all it takes for Ben to drop to his knees and brake out crying while still holding Mal's pale hand.


	11. The Release

**_Please read!_**

 _Hey guys! I'm kind of sad to say this story is coming to an end. There are probably 2 or 3 more chapters left until the end. However, I have a sequel in mind. So if you want me to do the sequel leave a review saying you want it._

 _Please follow favorite and review. Until next chapter❤️_

 _ **MAL**_

"Oh darling" she clicks her tongue in disapproval, "Good does not look good on you".

"What do you want mother?" I cross my arms and roll my eyes.

"I want my nasty little girl back" she walks around the green orb and I do the same keeping her in front of me at all times. "You need to snap out of this little stage and go back to who you really are. Truly Evil".

"You have no idea who I am" I spit back, "you never cared about me".

"On the contrary" she argues, "you were my whole world Mal. I always had your best interest".

"Oh, really?" I question, "Did you know I'm allergic to bees? Did you know that when I was 7 I broke my right arm while jumping from one roof to another? Did you know I'm actually happy for the first time in my life? Mom you don't know me, and you don't know what I want"

"You need to see the bigger picture" she raises her voice for emphasis. Always so dramatic. "How can you pick backstabbing friends over ruling the world".

"Well-" I begin but it all suddenly connects in my head. Jane and Lonnie. How did I not see it before? The vacant expression, the green glare in their eyes. It's what my mother did to me when I wouldn't obey. They did it, but they didn't know what they were doing. "It was you" I accuse, "you made them do it didn't you?"

She laughs evilly and four dark figures appear. Jane, Lonnie, Chad, and Doug stand behind her, their eyes shining a bright green.

"How are they here?" I ask concerned for their wellbeing.

"Oh relax" she waves her hand and they disappear, "that's just their subconscious". She giggle one last time and then her face goes completely serious. "I knew you wouldn't come back on your own, so I started monitoring all your classmates in their sleep. When that girl, Audrey, took that picture of you I took the opportunity, but her subconscious was too annoying. Always thinking about princes and pink dresses, I couldn't tolerate it anymore, so I started using different people".

"You're crazy" I throw my hands in the air, "you're crazy. Why would you do something like this?"

"I'm going to take over the world, and with my power and your..." She stops and stares at me with disgust before she continues, "and you can be there by my side. Maybe one day you'll be as powerful as me".

"So much more powerful than your mother" Fairy Godmother's voice echoes in my head. And then a remember a conversation we had in one of my lessons. I asked her how will I know when my powers are balanced, and she just said "you'll know". I'm not ready to defeat my mother, but I can sure as hell try.

"I am stronger than you" I turn to the rocky wall and burst a tunnel open. I start running full speed into the dark tunnel. I can hear my mothers laughter behind me, but I just keep running. I run until my toes catch the edge of a cliff and I have to catch my balance to avoid falling. I look down at the harsh water and pointy rocks, and then I look up at the tall Rocky Mountains and the dark sky. I know this place. I've been here before, it feels familiar.

"Mal" I hear my mom sing along with her creepy laughter.

I have to do something now. I put my hand in front of me and focus. After a couple of seconds large rock pillars rise from the water creating a path to the other large rock formation. I take a deep breath before jumping onto the first pillar. I land awkwardly on my side, and I can feel the sting of a large scrape on the right side of my face as I slide on the surface of the rock pillar. I get up and look back over my shoulder. I can still hear my mother's laughter, but I can't see her yet. I jump to the next pillar and land without getting hurt. I look over my shoulder again and my mothers laughter stops. I look up and there it is in all its glory. Forbidden Mountain. Last time I was here we were looking for my mothers staff. I knew it looked familiar.

I turn back around to jump to the next pillar, but instead I'm greeted by my mother, in dragon form.

"Crap" I say to myself and start walking backwards, but it doesn't take long before I'm on the edge.

"I can do this" I say to myself, "the strength of evil is good as none, when my hearts filled with right and wrong".

Her eyes start glowing green, which means my eyes are probably growing green, but I'm not going to let her into my head anymore. I shut my eyes tightly and focus on my powers like Fairy Godmother taught me. I breath in and hold it for a second as I let the power build up inside of me. When I open my eyes I see a violet light radiating from my hands. This is it. My powers are balanced. I can do this. I can finally beat her.

I clench my hands into fists tightly and when I let go a purple flare shoots out of my hands and hits my mother, making her screech. As her dragon body struggles to regain stability I jump to the next pillar. I land on my right knee and I hear a crack. That's not good. I try standing up, but my knee buckles and I got back down.

My dragon mother flies back up and knocks over the the pillar I'm on. I roll back, hitting my left arm on a large rock as the pillar topples over. I reach for the edge before I plummet to my death. My right arm throbs as all my weight hangs from my thin arms. He pillar stops falling, but it's still unstable. It could crumble at any seconds. I try blasting her again, but I can't hang on with only one arm and I need both hands to blast her. I know what I have to do.

"Then jump" I hear Ben's voice in my head, "I promise I'll catch you".

I close my eyes and let go of the edge of the rock. I start plummeting towards the rough water. The wind blows past me as I fall, but this is my one chance to finally prove myself to myself. I extend both of my hands in front of me. I let the power build for a second, and just before I hit the water I blast her with everything I have.

I'm now underwater, and no ones coming to save me this time. I watch as my mothers dragon body falls from the sky and goes into the water, and I am glad to know I can die knowing she is no longer a threat to the people I love. I let my body relax as I sink deeper and deeper. My mind goes back to the day Ben tried to teach me how to swim. His cute little giggle made me blush as he told me to kick. That's it! I have to kick.

I start to kick towards the surface ignoring the pain in my knee and arm. I push myself harder and harder as I run out of air. I look down at my mothers sinking body as I swim up. I feel the water break on my face as I gasp for air.

 _ **BEN**_

It's been over a week since we found Mal in the woods. Our suspension is finally over, but I decided to continue tutoring so I can be with Mal all the time. Evie and Carlos come by her room straight after school, and Jay comes right after Tourney practice. I came to an agreement with my parents that I would continue my tutoring as long as it took place in Mal's room. I can't leave her alone. I'm sitting by her bed staring at her like I have been doing after classes everyday when I the right side of her face redden and start bleeding slightly.

"Guys" I say to Evie, Carlos, and Jay who are scattered around the room. "Look at this". They all gather around to see what I'm talking about.

"It looks like a nasty scrape" Jay points out.

"I'll go get a nurse" Carlos leaves the room.

A few seconds later a loud cracking sound fills the room, but Mal doesn't move.

"What was that?" I ask standing up.

"It sounds like something broke" Evie says with worry in her voice.

Carlos comes back with one of the nurses that's been taking care of Mal. She checks the machines she's connected to and the checks her new wound. As she cleans it, a new cut appears on her forehead.

"That's going to need stitches" she says softly, "I'll be right back". She leaves the room and another cracking sound fills the room. Something else is broken. What's going on in there?

I look at Evie and I'm sure the concern in her eyes mirrors the concern in mine. Our attention is pulled when all the machines start beeping like crazy.

"What's happening?" Carlos freaks out while a bunch of nurses run into the room.

"She's not breathing" one of the nurses points out while another starts using a valve bag mask on her.

"What happened?" Fairy Godmother rushes into the room.

"She stopped breathing" Evie explains.

"You all need to wait outside" Fairy Godmother leads us out of the room, but I'm not leaving. I sit back down and grab her right arm. "Trust me Mal" I whisper "I'll catch you". The machines stop beeping and the nurses stop the valve bag therapy, but she still isn't breathing.

Suddenly her back arches and she gasps for air as her eyes fly open.


	12. The Comfort

_This story is coming to an end. I'm pretty sure next chapter is the last one, but I have decided to do the sequel. Its going to be very different from this one, but I'm really excited._

 _Please follow favorite and review. It's makes me really happy to read your reviews. Until the next chapter...❤️_

* * *

 ** _MAL_**

"Ben" I breath out and wrap my arms around him ignoring the pain in my left wrist. His hands slide onto my back. At first he's distant, but when he gets over the initial shock he leans into the hug. "It was her" my voice cracks, "she was the one who made Audrey post the pictures. She got into their heads. It was her."

"Shhh Mal" he strokes my hair, "it's okay. You're okay". He pushes out of hug and places both of his hands on my face. I can't help myself as my eyes water, and he pulls me back into the hug. He just holds me for a while until Fairy Godmother clears her throat.

"I did it" I smile as I let go of Ben, "I balanced my powers".

"If you don't mind me asking" she steps forwards, "what happened in there?"

"It was my mother" I explain, "she was getting into people's heads and forcing them to do stuff for her. She used to do it to me when I was little and I didn't do what she wanted me to do. It's unavoidable. Once she's in your head there's nothing you can do, and after she leaves you don't remember. I beat her. She's gone".

"Who was she controlling?" She asks.

"Audrey, Lonnie, Chad, Doug..." I close my eyes before I say, "and Jane". "

She flinches slightly, but she remains composed and professional. "I'm glad you're okay" she gives me a warm smiles. "I have to go deal with all this". She walks out of the room and Evie, Carlos and Jay run in. They stop for a second when the see I'm awake, but then they all take me into a big hug.

"Ow ow" I complain as the crowd me, "my knee. Ow"

"Sorry" they say in unison and step away.

The nurse starts checking me again, but I can take my eyes off Ben's. His eyes are surrounded by dark circles, and he looks like he hasn't slept in weeks. I did that to him. I can't believe I did that to him.

"I'm okay" he knows what I'm thinking, "as long as you're here, I'm okay".

I smile but it instantly goes away when the nurse grabs my wrist. "Ow!"

"It might be broken" she examines it a little further. "And I'm pretty sure your knee is sprained. A trauma doctor will come take a look at those, but right now I need to stitch your forehead.

I frown confused. What happened to my forehead. Evie hands me a small compact and I can't believe what I see. I look like a mess. There's a large cut in in my forehead and a smaller one in my chin. My lip is fat, and there's some bruising along my jaw line and cheek bone. A large scrape covers the right side of my face. "What the hell happened to my face?" I laugh breaking the tensions.

"We were about to ask the same thing" Carlos laughs and I can't help but smile. It feels like home even though I'm in an infirmary room. Just being surrounded by the people I love brightens my mood.

After the nurse finishes the stitches and cleaning the rest of the wounds she gives me some painkillers, I start feeling drowsy.

"I'll be here when you wake up" Ben says as my eyes start to close.

"We'll all be here" Evie reassures me and I fade into a deep sleep.

The discomfort in my knee wakes me up. Ben's sitting right besides me just like he was when I fell asleep, but Evie is sitting on the couch with Carlos besides her and Dude on his lap.

"Hey" I try pushing myself up, but my broken wrist is in a temporary splint so I can't.

"Here, let me" he helps me sit up adjusting my pillow as well.

"Thanks" I smile. He is so kind.

"The coffee has arrived" Jay knocks on the door before coming in.

Everyone cheers as he places the tray of coffee on the bedside table. I reach for a cup, but before I can take a sip Ben snatches it out of my hand.

"Uh" I whine as he takes a sip, "Ben..."

"You are on painkillers and antibiotics" he says with a stern voice, "that means no coffee for you".

"No fair" I pout and make a pathetic attempt at crossing my arms with the splint which makes them all laugh. I groan from a sharp pain in my knee.

"What's bothering you?" Evie asks

"My knee" I take a deep breath.

"The nurse said the trauma doctor should be here at 9:00 am" Ben informs me.

"What time is it?" I wonder

"It's about 8:30" Ben says as he checks his phone.

"I slept the whole night?" I thought I'd only been asleep for a couple of hours.

"Yeah you were pretty out of it" Carlos smirks.

"Then how come you're all dressed the same?" I say as Ben places a pillow under my injured knee.

"We've been here all night" he explains, "we're gonna go shower and change when the doctor comes".

I close my eyes and throw my head back for a few minutes. I wrist is placed tightly against my chest, and it's beginning to bother me again.

"Mal" Ben places a hand on my thigh and I open my eyes to see Fairy Godmother standing by the door.

"Hello Mal" she gives me a warm smile, "I'd like you to meet Doctor Jaysen. He'll be looking at your knee and your wrist. Children..." She signals the. Towards the door and the head out.

"I'll be back in a few" he gives me a peck on the lips and follows the others out the door.

After confirming a sprained knee and a broken wrist, Dr. Jaysen leaves. I have to wear a knee brace and a large black wrist splint for 6 weeks and crutches for 4 weeks. Plus I'm going to need physical therapy.

"How was the doctor?" Ben smirks from the door.

"Good" I smile. "He gave me these" I grab the crutches and lift the up so he can see them.

"That sucks" he walks in and sits besides me.

"Yeah" I scrunch my nose, "but as long as I'm with you this summer I'm alright". He leans in to kis me, but we're interrupted.

"I'm afraid I have some bad knees Mal" it's Fairy Godmother again, "you'll have to spend the first half of your summer in summer school".

"What!" I can't believe this is happening.

"You've missed a lot of classes" she explains, "if you want to graduate with the rest of your class you need to finish this year in summer school".

I look at Ben disappointed, but his smile makes me feel better.

"It's fine Mal" he grabs my healthy hand, "The summer palace will be waiting for you when your done, and so will I".

"I guess it won't be that bad" I shrug, "Carlos and Jane will be here too". Carlos had taken a job in the dog shelter outside of the school, so he will be staying in school all summer. Jay is going to a tourney camp, and Evie is spending the first part of summer with Doug and his family.

"I'll leave you two alone now" she leaves an I roll my eyes annoyed at her news.

"Come on" he stands up and grabs my crutches, "we're getting out of this room".

"And where are we going exactly?" I ask as I stand on my good leg.

"We are getting you used to using these crutches" he helps me put on my shoes and wraps his letterman jacket around me. Then we just walk, or crutch in my case, through campus and just talk. Just like before this whole mess started.


	13. The Beginning

_**PLEASE READ**_

 _HEY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! this is the last chapter for "uncovered" sorry it took me so long to update, but I was traveling. Thank you so much to everyone who followed favorited and reviewed this story. I never thought I'd actually get over 100 followers. I will be writing a sequel. It should be up sometime this week. I'll post another chapter here letting you know when the other story is up. Until the next Story...❤️_

* * *

 _ **MAL**_

It feels so long ago that I said goodbye to Ben, but it's only been a month. We were pressed against the side of his limo, his hands on my lower back and our foreheads touching.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" He asked for like the tenth time, "I can stay if you want me to". He was worried about leaving me alone since was still in crutches.

"No" I placed my hands on his chest, "you have royal duties, and I'm going to be busy with school and physical therapy anyway". I smiled caressing his face. "Go before I change my mind".

"I'll be back to come get you as soon as you finish school" he leaned in and kissed me passionately. I could have been there for hours, but sooner or later he had to go. When we finally came apart I could still feel his cool breath on the bridge of my nose.

"I love you" he said our foreheads touching again.

"I love you too" I moved back as he got into the limo.

I really wanted him to stay, but I knew he had to go. I waved before clutching back to my room.

For a while it was me, Carlos Jane, Fairy Godmother, and a few other kids that needed summer school. Slowly the kids began to leave and now it's just Carlos, Jane, Fairy Godmother and I, but today the day Ben comes back for me. I no longer have to wear the knee brace or the crutches. My face is almost cleared up except for a slight scar on my forehead. I still need the black wrist splint, but physical therapy is going really well so my doctor said I could start alternating days with and without the splint in a couple of weeks. My knee still bothers me sometimes, but my doctor said that was normal and that I should keep the knee brace just in case it started to really bother me.

I wouldn't admit I've been waiting for Ben to arrive since I woke up, but when he texted that he was here I let out an excited shriek. I grab my duffle bag and head downstairs. I see him as woo as I walk out of the building. He is walking towards me in his usual blue blazer and khakis. I would run towards him, but I'm not ready to run yet. I drop my bag when I come face to face with him. He lifts me up and spins me around making me smile.

"You're not broken anymore!" He says surprised as he puts me back on the ground.

"Uh" I say offended, a smile still on my face as I hit him softly with my good hand. "Don't be rude".

He smiles and pulls me into a deep kiss. I run my hands through his hair and his hands are still wrapped tightly around me.

"God I missed you" his voice is low as our mouths separate.

"I missed you too" I move to pick up my bag, but he grabs it first before taking my hand into his. We start walking slowly to the limo hand in hand. He knows I'm still recovering from my knee so he watches me like a hawk.m

"Ben" I complain, "I can walk. You don't need to look at me like I'm going to break".

"Sorry" he apologizes. "I'm just sad I couldn't get your first steps on video" he jokes.

"Oh shot up" I spit back but I can't help but laugh a little.

"I hope you remember how to swim" he begins, "because we are going to be spending a lot of time in the pool".

"Nope" I roll my eyes and shake my head, "No way".

"I'm I gonna have to give you another lesson?" He knows I can't and won't tolerate another swimming lesson.

"No, I remember" I say annoyed. "Kind of" I mutter to myself, but his giggles tell me he heard.

The limo ride to the summer palace is quiet. We make out and cuddle all the way there. It take about 3 hours to get there, but when we finally do I can't believe my eyes. It's beautiful. The tall polished castle stands right on the beach. When we go in its all white and clean. I usually wouldn't like anything decorated in white, but I have to admit it's pretty. He helps me up a large staircase slowly and leads me to a black and purple room.

"This is your room" he says as I take a closer look. I can't believe he had this decorated just for me. "I had it personalized just how you like it".

"You shouldn't have" I shake my head.

"You're right. I shouldn't have" he wraps his arms around me from behind. "You're not going to be spending that much time here anyways". I smile and turn around to kiss him. He kisses me back, but pulls away within seconds.

"Get changed" he starts walking out of the room, "I have a surprise for you. I'll have someone come get you when I'm ready".

I obey him and change into a dark purple dress and some flats. I wait around for a while until a nice lady knocks on the door and tells me to follow her. I do as told and follow her through the castle. We walk past the dinning room and the gigantic pool before she end up on the beach. The sun is starting to set and the sky glows in beautiful shades of purple, pink and red. We walk on the beach Until a path of stones and torches appear.

"You can go through the path alone if you wish" she says kindly, "or would you like my assistance?".

"Be told you to ask that didn't he?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Yes" she nods, "he also said you would probably deny my help".

"He was right" I smile, "thank you for your help, but I'm fine walking on my own".

I continue walking through the path and into a more forested area. The palm trees get bigger and bigger as I walk. Suddenly the palm trees, the stones and the torches on the sides of the path create a large circular opening. It's all covered with small candles on the sand but just in the middle stands Ben. I walk towards him and he waits patiently.

"Mal" he grabs my hands. "From the moment you got out of that limo, I fell in love with you. It took me some time, but when it mattered most I finally figured it out. You are the most beautiful and kind girl I know. I am aware of your past and I want you to know I will stand by your side as long as your willing to let me, and I am hoping that it will be forever" he gets down on one knee and pulls something out of his pocket. I gasp and cover my mouth with one hand. "Mal Bertha" I don't even care he called me that, "will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

I can't get married. I'm not even 17 yet. Is he serious? What should I do? I can't be a queen. Can I? There's no wY this is actually happening. He's on drugs...

A million thoughts run through my head, but only one word comes out of my mouth.

"Yes" I say with a smile and he places the beautiful engagement ring on top of his old ring before pulling me into a passionate kiss.

THE END

(For now)


	14. SEQUEL

Hey guys! My new story is finally up. Please go check it out. It's the sequel to this story and its BenxMal.

its called **_"DISCOVERING"_**

Updated are going to be a little slower than they were here, but I think it's going to be a little bit longer than Uncovered.

Please go read it. Follow favorite and review. I love reading your reviews. I really do.

Thank you so much for being a part of "Uncovered". You have no idea how much I appreciate it.


	15. Note!

Hey guys! I haven't been here in a while, but I just wanted to thank you for all your support!

I know my stories aren't perfect, and there are a lot of spelling mistakes. I try to spell check every chapter but sometimes I don't have time, and since I write on my iPad autocorrect tends to take over sometimes. I always try my best...

I started a Oneshot series, but I haven't been writing that much mostly because I haven't gotten many requests. I also have a new story that might be coming soon!

I just wanted to thank you all so much!


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